In a world where technology rules and we are greeted by ads on every device, it can sometimes be hard for advertisers to cut through the clutter. However, if you have the budget (or sometimes a lack of budget), guerrilla marketing may just be the way to go. What exactly is guerrilla marketing? It’s a way of using non-mainstream media and tactics to create buzz about a product or service one has to offer. Below are just a few examples of some recent campaigns that have popped up around the world.
LARGER THAN LIFE MODELS
If you are looking to promote a new TV channel or the arrival of a popular TV series in Britain, it appears that giant sculptures strategically placed around the country are the way to go. A 12-foot-tall version of Colin Firth’s character Mr. Darcy from the popular mini-series Pride and Prejudice has been seen in several British lakes to promote UKTV’s new Drama channel. Its most recent stop was in Lyme Park in Cheshire where the famous scene was filmed. In a similar fashion, movie and TV streaming site BlinkBox promoted the arrival of the newest season of Game of Thrones by placing a 40-foot-long dragon skull on a beach in Dorset – an area famous for dinosaur fossils.
INTERACTIVE
Earlier this summer, popular beer brand Heineken tempted travelers at New York’s JFK airport with a game of “Departure Roulette.” They set up a large board and asked people to change their destination with the push of the button. As one would imagine, most were not adventurous enough to “Drop Everything. Push Button. Commit To (New Location)” as the sign prompted. But there were a few that were up to the challenge. The event was set up to tie in to a Heineken campaign in Amsterdam in which four participants were dropped in exotic locations and asked to film their journeys.
FLASH MOBS
Flash mob videos have been making the rounds online for the past few years. These choreographed groups generally take the public by surprise as they show up in crowded shopping malls or subway cars. The Rijksmuseum Museum in Amsterdam used this approach to draw attention to the fact that it was reopening after 10 years of undergoing extensive restorations. Descending on unsuspecting shoppers at a mall in Breda, this flash mob consisted of over two dozen members of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ – reconstructing the museum’s most famous painting and inviting the public to the reopening to come see the real thing.
Have you seen an example of a great guerrilla marketing campaign? Tell us about it in the comments below and be sure to check out this list of “122 Must See Guerilla Marketing Examples” from CreativeGuerrillaMarketing.com.